International Perspectives on Women and Work in Hotels, Catering and Tourism - Thomas Baum
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Working Paper 1 / 2013
International Perspectives
on Women and Work in Hotels,
Catering and Tourism
Thomas Baum
Bureau for
Gender
Equality
Sectoral
Activities
DepartmentGENDER Working Paper 1/2013
SECTOR Working Paper No. 289
Bureau for Gender Equality
and
Sectoral Activities Department
International perspectives on women and work
in hotels, catering and tourism
By Professor Thomas Baum
INTERNATIONAL LABOUR OFFICE – GENEVACopyright © International Labour Organization 2013
First edition 2013
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International perspectives on women and work in hotels, catering and tourism, Bureau for Gender Equality
Working Paper 1/2013, Sectoral Activities Department Working Paper No. 289, by Professor Thomas Baum,
International Labour Office, Sectoral Activities Department. Geneva, ILO, 2013.
ISBN 978-92-2-127414-8 (print)
ISBN 978-92-2-127415-5 (Web pdf)
women workers / employment / hotel industry / catering / tourism
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Printed by the International Labour Office, Geneva, SwitzerlandPreface
Hotels, catering and tourism (HCT) is a large and fast-growing service sector, with an
average female participation of 55.5 per cent at global level and up to 70 per cent at
regional level. They are employed in a wide variety of roles, including as cleaners and
kitchen staff, front-line customer service workers and senior management. The
recruitment, retention and promotion of talented women for technical and managerial
leadership positions will be necessary to meet the future skills and productivity
requirements of the sector. Moreover, women will comprise an even larger proportion of
the sector‟s client base as more will travel for business and leisure. This too will have an
impact on gender equality in the recruitment of employees.
This working paper highlights the structural and cultural issues which determine the
roles that women play within the HCT workforce and the strategies which can make a
difference to their status and opportunities within the industry. Some of these issues relate
to occupational sex segregation, wage parity, career opportunities, the role of women
within micro-enterprises and the informal hotel/catering/tourism economy. The links
between equality of opportunity and treatment for women and men in quality jobs,
workforce development, training opportunities and employment in the sector have been
explored to a certain degree at national or local levels. However, there is less information
regarding gender equality provisions and major international companies in global and
regional contexts. The findings of this study point to issues of importance for employment
of women as a basis for future dialogue. They also highlight important innovations, good
practices and interesting case studies in support of future human resources planning for
governments, employers‟ and workers‟ organizations.
The working paper draws upon a broad range of published sources from international,
regional and national studies of the industry and of wider analysis of gender roles within
the economy. It also takes account of the outcomes of a survey of international hotel
companies and a focus group meeting with senior executives which explored both current
practice and the barriers to the more effective employment of women within the sector‟s
workforce. The working paper is a joint undertaking of the ILO Bureau for Gender
Equality (GENDER) and ILO Sectoral Activities Department (SECTOR) and was
prepared by Professor Thomas Baum of the Strathclyde Business School in the University
of Strathclyde, Glasgow, United Kingdom. Ms Susan Maybud (GENDER) and
Mr Wolfgang Weinz (SECTOR) were responsible for the examination and finalization of
the draft working paper; Ms Lucie Servoz (SECTOR) provided comments, additional
information and technical assistance; and Mr John Myers (SECTOR) reviewed and revised
the final draft.
Alette Van Leur
Director
Sectoral Activities Department (SECTOR)
International Labour Office
Jane Hodges
Director
Bureau for Gender Equality (GENDER)
International Labour Office
WP-External-289-[SECTO-130318-2]-NR-En.docx iiiContents
Page
Preface ............................................................................................................................................... iii
Contents............................................................................................................................................. v
Executive summary ........................................................................................................................... vii
List of acronyms ................................................................................................................................ ix
1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 1
1.1. Women, work in the HCT sector and gender equality............................................... 1
1.2. Purpose of the working paper ..................................................................................... 4
2. Employment in hotels, catering and tourism............................................................................ 6
2.1. The nature of work in HCT ........................................................................................ 8
3. Recognizing gender issues ........................................................................................................ 12
3.1. Understanding the reasons behind gender inequality in the labour market ................ 15
3.2. Women in employment in HCT.................................................................................. 19
3.3. Women and wages ...................................................................................................... 24
3.4. Equality of opportunity and treatment ........................................................................ 25
3.5. Key themes and cases ................................................................................................. 26
3.6. Women and HCT cooperatives ................................................................................... 27
3.7. Women in informal employment in HCT ................................................................... 28
3.8. Effect of the internationalization of business on women‟s employment
in Mexico ................................................................................................................................ 30
3.9. Gender and the sexualization of labour in the HCT sector ......................................... 30
3.10. Women and the pro-poor tourism agenda................................................................... 31
4. A survey of international hotel and tourism companies ............................................................ 34
4.1. Methods ...................................................................................................................... 34
4.2. Findings from the international survey ....................................................................... 34
4.3. Findings from the focus group .................................................................................... 37
5. Employment trends for women in HCT .................................................................................... 39
5.1. A global overview....................................................................................................... 39
5.2. Europe ......................................................................................................................... 40
5.3. Latin America and the Caribbean ............................................................................... 46
5.4. Asia ............................................................................................................................. 48
5.5. Sub-Saharan Africa ..................................................................................................... 51
WP-External-289-[SECTO-130318-2]-NR-En.docx v5.6. North America ............................................................................................................ 52
5.7. North Africa and the Middle East ............................................................................... 55
5.8. Australia and New Zealand......................................................................................... 57
6. Conclusions and recommendations ........................................................................................... 59
Sectoral working papers ................................................................................................................... 63
vi WP-External-289-[SECTO-130318-2]-NR-En.docxExecutive summary
HCT is a large and fast-growing service sector, that accounts for a significant portion
of the global economy, and in which women represent a majority of the workforce in many
countries. However, despite some change over recent decades in some countries, this
numerical representation is not mirrored in the roles that women play in the technical or
managerial leadership of the sector. This working paper highlights structural and cultural
issues that often determine the roles that women play within the HCT workforce and the
strategies which can make a difference to their status and opportunities within the sector.
Some of these issues relate to occupational sex segregation, wage parity, promotion
opportunities, the role of women within micro-enterprises and the informal hotel, catering
and tourism economy.
The working paper draws upon a broad range of published sources from international,
regional and national studies of the sector and of wider analysis of gender roles within the
economy. It also draws upon the outcomes of a survey of international hotel companies
and a focus group meeting with senior industry executives which explore both current
practice and the barriers to the more effective use of women within the industry workforce.
On the basis of evidence drawn from these sources, this working paper provides a
number of conclusions and makes key recommendations which may contribute to long-
term strategic change on gender issues in the sector. There is little doubt that change in the
role of women within the sector is or will be important both from an economic and rights-
based approach and this report considers measures which may help achieve such change.
Given the pace of demographic, economic and technological change in many countries and
regions, a hotel workforce in which women are represented at all levels should be a major
feature over the next decade in most parts of the world. The hotel sub-sector, therefore,
will continue to depend heavily on the recruitment of both women and men in order to
meet its future skills requirements. Moreover, women comprise an even larger proportion
of hotel clientele as more are travelling for business and leisure, and this will have an
impact on gender equality in the recruitment of staff.
The links between equality of opportunity and treatment for women and men in
quality jobs, workforce development, training opportunities and employment in the hotel
industry is a subject that has been explored somewhat at national or local levels. However,
there is less information regarding gender equality provisions and major international
companies in a regional/global context. The findings of this study explore issues of
importance for hotel employment as a basis for future dialogue, and also provide important
information, good practices and case studies in support of future human resources
development and planning by enterprises, organizations and governments.
WP-External-289-[SECTO-130318-2]-NR-En.docx viiList of acronyms
ADB Asian Development Bank
CIS Commonwealth of Independent States
Eurofound European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working
Conditions
EU European Union
GDP Gross Domestic Product
HCT Hotels, catering and tourism
HR Human resources
ILO International Labour Office or International Labour Organization
ICT Information and communication technology
IHRA International Hotel and Restaurant Association
IUF International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering,
Tobacco and Allied Workers‟ Associations
NGO Non-governmental organization
OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
SMEs Small and medium-sized enterprises
UNWTO United Nations World Tourism Organization
VET Vocational Education and Training
WTTC World Travel and Tourism Council
WP-External-289-[SECTO-130318-2]-NR-En.docx ix1. Introduction
1.1. Women, work in the HCT sector and
gender equality
Securing decent work is crucial for women and men, making it possible for them to
build more promising futures for themselves, their families and their communities.
Sustainable development is achieved through the contributions of both women and men.
Socially constructed gender roles, the biological differences between men and women, and
how these interact in the world of work are therefore at the core of decent work. 1
Gender issues at the national, regional and global levels, are major challenges which
face countries, employers and workers in harnessing the capacity of women to contribute
more in economic, political and social terms. This working paper seeks to inform gender
roles and gender equality issues within the specific context of the HCT sector and to assess
evidence with respect to the various roles which women currently have and, potentially,
can play in this sector of the global economy. As Ferguson 2 notes, “tourism employment
is highly gendered, and – as with many other industries – draws on gender inequalities that
provide a large global supply of highly flexibilized and low-paid female workers and
potential tourism entrepreneurs”.
Gender inequality is manifested in a reality that “women perform 66 per cent of the
world‟s work, produce 50 per cent of the food, but earn 10 per cent of the income and own
1 per cent of the property.” 3 The reasons for this situation are widespread: women have
lower access to land, capital and education than men, women tend to work at home or
family enterprises unprotected by law, and women face discrimination and trouble
reconciling with work and family life. 4 However, there is evidence of increasing
participation by women in the formal economy of more developed countries. Many of the
characteristics of wider employment, such as a high level of undeclared work, part-time,
temporary and seasonal work, work during irregular hours and lack of education are also
present in HCT.
Gender issues in HCT represent a well-researched field, with studies emanating from
a wide variety of national and cultural contexts and addressing various dimensions of the
topic. In terms of income disparities, for example, several studies demonstrate a significant
gap in income between male and female employees in the sector, with females earning less
1
ILO: Gender equality at the heart of decent work, Report VI, International Labour Conference,
98th Session, Geneva, 2009, p.1.
2
L. Ferguson: “Promoting gender equality and empowering women? Tourism and the third
Millennium Development Goal”, in Current Issues in Tourism (2011, Vol. 14, No. 3), pp. 235–249.
3
UN Women: Facts & figures on women, poverty & economics, poverty & employment,
http://www.unifem.org/gender_issues/women_poverty_economics/facts_figures.php#2 [accessed 15
February 2013].
4
ILO–UNDP: Work and family: Towards new forms of reconciliation with social co-responsibility
(Santiago, 2009).
WP-External-289-[SECTO-130318-2]-NR-En.docx 1than their male counterparts. 5 Such gender-based income gaps have been represented as a
form of sex discrimination within the HCT sector. 6 There are also several studies which
highlight differences between men and women managers in terms of effective strategy
implementation. 7 Further research has documented gender differences in promotions to
managerial positions, 8 from which it is clear that men are over-represented in preferred
positions that pay better.
The International Labour Office (ILO) 9 highlighted the challenges faced by women
in the HCT workplace when it noted that “A divergence between qualifications and
workplace reality is observable for women, who make up between 60 and 70 per cent of
the labour force. Unskilled or semi-skilled women tend to work in the most vulnerable
jobs, where they are more likely to experience poor working conditions, inequality of
opportunity and treatment, violence, exploitation, stress and sexual harassment”. This
assessment is supported by a number of complementary sources, notably the United
Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) 10 in a report which highlights both the
opportunities and challenges which face women with respect to employment in tourism.
The majority of workers are women and wages are low compared to other sectors. Yet, the
link between overall working conditions and the challenges faced by women in HCT needs
to be better understood. This understanding needs to focus on the employment
opportunities that HCT offers to women who, in many countries, represent a majority of
workers in the sector but, at the same time, find themselves significantly under-represented
in higher paid and managerial positions. Studying the issues could allow governments and
employers‟ and workers‟ organizations to develop strategies which could lead to the
promotion of greater gender equality. This is due to significant horizontal and vertical
segregation in occupations, as well as in terms of working time, part-time employment and
precarious work. Previous research on women‟s working conditions and gender equality
emphasized that vertical segregation, work–family balance and care responsibilities
assumed by women were the primary and interlinked, factors that led to the situation
5
R. Biswas; C. Cassell: “Strategic HRM and the gendered division of labour in the hotel industry: a
case study”, in Personnel Review, (1996, 25 (2)), pp. 19–34; K. Purcell: “The relationship between
career and job opportunities: women‟s employment in the hospitality industry as a microcosm of
women‟s employment, Women”, in Management Review, (1996, 11 (5)), pp. 17–24; R.T. Sparrowe;
K.M. Iverson: “Cracks in the glass ceiling? An empirical study of gender differences in income in
the hospitality industry”, in Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research (1999, 23 (1)), pp. 4–20.
6
C. Thrane: “Earnings differentiation in the tourism industry: gender, human capital and socio-
demographic effects”, in Tourism Management (2007, Vol. 29), pp. 514–524.
7
J.I. Schaap; Y. Stedham, J.H. Yamamura:”Casino management: exploring gender-based
differences in perceptions of managerial work”, in International Journal of Hospitality Management
(2008, Vol. 27 (1)), pp. 87–97.
8
H. Manwa; N. Black: “Influence of organizational culture on female and male upward mobility
into middle and senior managerial positions”, in International Journal of Cross Cultural
Management, (2002, 2(2)), pp. 357–373; C. Thrane: “Earnings differentiation in the tourism
industry: gender, human capital and socio-demographic effects”, in Tourism Management (2007,
29), pp. 514–524.
9
ILO: Developments and challenges in the hospitality and tourism sector, Issues paper for
discussion at the Global Dialogue Forum for the Hotels, Catering, Tourism Sector,
23–24 November 2010 (Geneva, 2010).
10
UNWTO: Global Report on Women in Tourism 2010 (Madrid, 2011).
2 WP-External-289-[SECTO-130318-2]-NR-En.docxdescribed above. 11 In developing countries, additional factors such as limited education,
widespread poverty, poor maternal health and lack of sex education together with socio-
cultural factors have prevented women from being empowered as economic actors. 12
The HCT sector poses additional and particular challenges for women due to
organizational and structural characteristics. These include a highly variable demand cycle
which imposes unsocial working hours on employees and can make shift patterns
unpredictable, both of which are difficult to reconcile with family and care responsibilities.
Seasonal work can demand very high levels of time commitment during some parts of the
year, while offering little or no work during the off-season. 13 Businesses can be located at
some distance from residential areas, particularly in poorer countries and communities,
imposing both travel and time costs on women who frequently have limited access to both
financial and time-flexibility resources. In many countries, areas of HCT work, notably
hotel and restaurant kitchens, are traditional male preserves in terms of employment
opportunity and work culture, 14 and this can act as a major barrier to female access and
opportunity. By contrast to the barriers imposed by workplace culture in hotel and
restaurant kitchens, other areas of relatively high-profile work in HCT are traditionally
female dominated, notably tour guides in many countries and cultures. Such work has,
traditionally, been seen as “glamorous” and, therefore, attractive to women, although this
image is increasingly contested. 15 The following box provides food for thought on the
HCT sector:
Box 1
Caregiving roles of women and men
Most legal, policy and programmatic frameworks are constructed on the assumption of a specific
household structure, usually with the male as the breadwinner. Yet in certain developing countries and in
certain conflict settings, for instance in Africa, the household structure with a male breadwinner may not be
applicable, as many households are maintained by women. In developed countries, the male-breadwinner
family model, which does not take account of family-related care responsibilities, is on the wane. The model is
shifting to a dual-earner family arrangement, which challenges definitions of femininity and masculinity.
Changing the gender division of labour in the household to a more equitable distribution of tasks, and investing
in labour-saving technology, have significant benefits for productivity. Men specifically stand to gain in dual-
income partnerships through better work/family balance, from better contact with children and inclusion in family
life, as well as less vulnerability to economic shocks. Recognizing these realities will be necessary in order to
influence effective policies.
Source: ILO: Gender equality at the heart of decent work, Report VI, International Labour Conference, 98th Session,
Geneva, 2009, p. 126.
11
Eurofound: Addressing the gender pay gap: Government and social partner actions (Dublin,
2010).
12
UN Women: Facts & figures on women, poverty & economics, poverty & employment,
http://www.unifem.org/gender_issues/women_poverty_economics/facts_figures.php#2 [accessed
15 February 2013].
13
T. Baum; S. Lundtorp: Seasonality in Tourism (London, Elsevier, 2000).
14
A. Bourdain: Kitchen Confidential (London: Bloomsbury, 2000); A. Adib and Y. Guerrier: The
interlocking of gender with nationality, race, ethnicity and class: The narratives of women in hotel
work, gender, work and organization (2003, Vol. 10(4)), pp. 413–432.
15
T. Baum: “Working the skies: Changing representations of gendered work in the airline industry,
1930–2011”, in Tourism Management (2012, Vol. 33), pp. 1185–1194.
WP-External-289-[SECTO-130318-2]-NR-En.docx 31.2. Purpose of the working paper
This working paper aims to assess the evidence relating to gender roles and gender
equity measures in the HCT sector, using primary sources and secondary evidence.
Specifically, this study aims to:
(i) assess statistical data and related research with respect to gender roles and gender
equality in HCT, specifically with reference to participation, pay, opportunity and
status;
(ii) consider the position of women in the HCT workforce from a cross-cultural and
transnational perspective;
(iii) explore the role of pro-poor tourism strategies and opportunities these provide in
enabling female employment and entrepreneurship;
(iv) review the strategies adopted by major international HCT enterprises in facilitating
equality of opportunity and treatment for women and men; and
(v) analyse the role and status of women in the HCT sector worldwide, highlighting both
opportunities and challenges which all stakeholders (businesses, the workforce, the
wider community) face in this regard.
As the HCT sector is widely covered in statistical studies under a variety of
categories, such as “hotels and restaurants” or “accommodation and food services
activities” and “tourism”, statistical sources are not always wholly consistent, comparable
or relevant to the sector. The ILO definition of the “tourism” component of the HCT sector
includes specific segments of transport, 16 travel agencies and tour operators. Hotels,
catering and restaurants are considered by many organizations to belong to “tourism-
characteristic industries” and may therefore be subsumed under tourism. Other
organizations concerned with tourism, including governments, intergovernmental
organizations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) often use much broader
definitions of the term than those used by the ILO. They subsume under tourism all
services and products consumed by tourists, including transport. The data do not consider
the different methodologies of organizations and can therefore differ very widely. 17
Moreover, data collection at the sectoral level is difficult and thus many of the reasons
behind gender inequality in HCT remain poorly understood and studied. An ILO report on
gender and rural employment 18 notes that “A wide range of data on many aspects (e.g.
employment status, economic sectors, hours of paid and unpaid work, earnings, working
conditions) and at many levels (for example, household, district, region) are necessary to
adequately understand the complexity of rural livelihoods and their gender patterns. Some
of these data are not systematically collected or easily found in standard statistics. The
researcher concerned with gender dimensions of rural work often has to patch together
16
For instance: taxis, cruise ships, tourism trains and buses.
17
ILO: Developments and challenges in the hospitality and tourism sector, Issues paper for
discussion at the Global Dialogue Forum for the Hotels, Catering, Tourism Sector, Geneva,
23–24 November, 2010, p. 2.
18
Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO); International Fund for
Agricultural Development (IFAD); ILO: Gender dimensions of agricultural and rural employment:
Differentiated pathways out of poverty, Status, trends and gaps, Rome, 2010,
http://www.ilocarib.org.tt/images/stories/contenido/pdf/Gender/GRE_WEB.pdf.
4 WP-External-289-[SECTO-130318-2]-NR-En.docxvarious sources and rely on a combination of specific case studies and anecdotal
evidence.” 19 All these problems with data plague research in the HCT sector as well.
Nonetheless, inferences about the HCT workplace can be drawn from various sources
using standard measures 20 which enable sound comparisons to be made. Beyond statistical
data, this analysis reviews a range of research studies on gender issues in HCT which
illustrate the underlying gender issues in the sector. The central piece of this working paper
is the set of primary findings of a survey of major international HCT companies, conducted
to obtain a picture of current practice within the sector with respect to the fostering of
greater gender equality and opportunity.
Methodologically, this study draws on a wide range of secondary sources, both
statistical and analytical. These sources are complemented by a major international survey
of HCT sector employers. The challenge faced by a study of this nature is ambiguity in
sectoral definitions which impacts on the quality of statistical data available and
necessitates caution in undertaking comparative analysis across sectors and countries.
19
Ibid.
20
In calculations of gender pay gap, the international standard formula for the gender pay or wage
gap is used, as follows: ( ( (wage men – wage women) : wage men) x 100). See, for example, An
overview of women’s work and employment in Brazil, MDG3 Project, Country Report Brazil,
Amsterdam, 2009, p. 44, note 24, at http://dfl.wageindicator.org/uploadfolder/documents/091212-
Decisions_for_Life_Country_Reports-Brazil.pdf [accessed 15 February 2013].
WP-External-289-[SECTO-130318-2]-NR-En.docx 52. Employment in hotels, catering
and tourism
HCT is highly labour-intensive and, numerically, a significant source of employment.
It is among the world‟s top job creators and allows for quick entry into the workforce for
youth, women and migrant workers. With regard to the sectoral supply chain, one job in
the core tourism industry indirectly generates roughly 1.5 additional jobs in the related
economy. 21 As reported by UNWTO, tourism is a leading contributor to export earnings
and accounts for 6 per cent of all global exports in services, being the fourth largest export
sector after fuels, chemicals and automotive products. 22
One of the sector‟s key challenges is to ensure decent work conditions, reduce
uncertainty and support moves towards greater gender equality in the opportunities,
remuneration and working conditions available to women in HCT. The success of the
sector depends on staff commitment, loyalty and efficiency, all of which are shown
through interactions with customers. Staff wages and working conditions are important
considerations when assessing the success of the sector. Social dialogue and collective
bargaining underpin stability and efficiency within the workforce. The Decent Work
Agenda of the ILO was founded on the key principles of creating jobs, guaranteeing rights
at work, extending social protection and promoting social dialogue. Gender mainstreaming
is a strategy pursued in a wide range of ILO activities in order to achieve gender equality.
Decent work is based on the understanding that work is a source of personal dignity,
family stability, peace in the community, democracies that deliver for people, and
economic growth that expands opportunities for productive jobs and enterprise
development. 23 It also supports the concept of providing workers with conditions in which
they could perform. In applying the Agenda to the HCT sector, positive outcomes should
be sought for workers, companies and customers in order to ensure the distribution of
benefits among all parties. HCT‟s contribution to the economy can clearly be linked to
poverty reduction, which was a high priority item on the G20 agenda. Job creation is a key
way of achieving that goal and creating opportunities for women to contribute to poverty
alleviation through their own endeavours in the HCT workplace.
The international HCT sector is characterized by diversity in relation to all facets of
its organization and operations. Indeed, it displays variation to a far greater degree than it
does homogeneity. The sector, and particularly the hotel and restaurant sub-sector is highly
diversified in the types of businesses that operate within it. The largest hotel enterprises
cover portfolios that include more than 6,000 outlets each and employ more than
150,000 employees in as many as 100 countries. InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) was
the largest hotel chain in 2012, and was managing more than 650,000 rooms. It is followed
by Hilton Worldwide and Marriott International. Globally the sector is highly fragmented,
with around 20 per cent of the workforce located within multinational enterprises
21
I. Goldin: The Economic Case for Tourism, for UNWTO/South Africa international summit on
tourism, sport and mega-events, 25 February 2010; D. Bolwell, W. Weinz: Reducing poverty
through tourism (Geneva, ILO, 2008), http://www.ilo.org/public/english/dialogue/sector/sectors/
tourism/emp.htm.
22
UNWTO Step Initiative, http://step.unwto.org/en/content/tourism-and-poverty-alleviation-1.
23
See: http://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/decent-work-agenda/lang--en/index.htm.
6 WP-External-289-[SECTO-130318-2]-NR-En.docxcompared to 80 per cent in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). 24 More than
2.5 million SMEs are estimated to be involved in European tourism with over 99 per cent
of companies employing fewer than 250 individuals. The hotel sub-sector is not alone
when it comes to growth and the importance of their role as chain operators. Restaurants,
particularly coffee shops and the fast-food sector have seen major growth in multiple
operations worldwide, generally through the franchise format. Chain operations in the
restaurant sector are dominated by iconic names in fast food, the majority of which are
American in origin (McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Subway, Burger King, Starbucks and KFC
among others) which all operate over 10,000 units worldwide. 25
Unlike the more general European picture, HCT businesses in North America, 26
emerging Asian destinations, Australia, the United Kingdom and some Nordic countries
are more strongly influenced by organizations or larger enterprises with multiple outlets
that employ more than 250 people. 27 Large enterprises are active product and service
innovators and frequently set trends for the whole sector. As a result of “branding”, which
aims to build brand popularity so that consumers identify with the brand and its particular
values, HCT businesses have found that they can avoid risks of ownership while securing a
constant stream of revenue by entering into long-term management agreements. They
influence the activity of many SMEs through franchising or similar arrangements –
businesses which remain legally independent particularly when workers‟ representation is
concerned.
The range in size of HCT enterprises implies substantial differences in performance
and competence. Big HCT chains have significant HRD resources, including in-house and
on the job-training whereas SMEs lack the capacity to do so and rely more on the
Vocational Education and Training (VET) system to meet their training requirements.
However, it can be a challenge for enterprises that have adopted broad HR management
policies to maintain a consistent approach to HR practice and industrial relations,
including, for example, social dialogue across regions. This is a function of the structure
and size of such enterprises and the variety of legislative regimes within which they
operate.
A key structural concern with gender disparity in HCT is that of the significant
horizontal and vertical gender segregation of the labour market within the sector. Women
and men are placed in different occupations – women are employed as servers, cleaners,
travel agency sales persons, tour guides, (90 per cent of the people in these occupations are
women), whereas men are employed as bartenders, porters,, gardeners,, maintenance and
construction workers. As we will demonstrate, vertically, the typical “gender pyramid” is
24
See http://www.ilo.org/public/english/dialogue/sector/sectors/tourism/emp-hotel.htm [accessed
13 December 2012] and http://www.hotel-online.com/News/PR2012_2nd/May12_Hotel
Rankings.html [accessed 4 March 2013].
25
ILO: Developments and challenges in the hospitality and tourism sector, Issues paper for
discussion at the Global Dialogue Forum for the Hotels, Catering, Tourism Sector
Geneva, 23–24 November 2010; European Commission website, enterprise and industry;
See also: http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/sectors/tourism/files/studies/structure_performance_
competitiveness/pwc_en.pdf.
26
United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, http://www.bls.gov/emp/ep_table_109.htm [accessed
5 February 2013]; OECD: “Tourism Trends in the OECD Area and Beyond”, in Tourism Trends
and Policies 2010 (Paris, 2010), p.39.
27
Ibid.
WP-External-289-[SECTO-130318-2]-NR-En.docx 7prevalent - lower levels and occupations with few career development opportunities being
dominated by women and key managerial positions being dominated by men. 28
However, the link between the overall working conditions in the HCT sector and the
challenges faced by women should be understood better. This would also allow countries
and companies to develop strategies by which the HCT sector could be a forerunner in
gender equality. Statistics show that women occupy more jobs in the HCT sector than men
and yet earn less. This is due to significant segregation horizontally and vertically in term
of occupations, as well as in terms of working time, part-time employment and precarious
work. Previous research on women‟s working conditions and gender equality at the
workplace emphasize that vertical segregation, work-family balance and care
responsibilities assumed by women are the primary, and interlinked, factors leading to the
situation described above. 29 In developing countries, additional factors such as limited
education, poverty, poor maternal health and lack of sex education as well as cultural
issues prevent women being empowered as economic actors. 30
2.1. The nature of work in HCT
2.1.1. Employment
It is important to recognize the significance of travel and tourism in generating jobs
worldwide. In 2011, the travel and tourism and its related investment in construction,
infrastructure, transport etc. and of the supply chain accounted for about 255 million jobs,
equivalent to 8.7 per cent of total employment and to one in about twelve jobs. In 2012, a
further 2.3 million direct jobs and 5.2 million total (direct, indirect and induced) jobs are
expected to have been created, representing about 2 per cent growth in the sector‟s
contribution to employment over the year. Travel and tourism is estimated to lead to the
direct generation of 120 million jobs by 2022, reaching a total of tourism employment
worldwide of 328 million jobs, equivalent to nearly one in 10 jobs in the global
workforce. 31
While travel and tourism has been affected by the global economic crisis, it has
shown resilience, increasing by 3 per cent in 2012. Asia, Latin America and Sub-Saharan
Africa were among the fastest growing destination markets in percentage growth terms in
2012. 32 The contribution of travel and tourism to global gross domestic product (GDP),
taking into account its direct, indirect and induced impacts, was estimated at 9 per cent in
2012. Its direct contribution to GDP grew by 3.2 per cent in 2012 and was expected to rise
by 3.1 per cent in 2013 and by 4.4 per cent per year to 2022. Significant employment
28
M. Vargas; L. Aguilar: Tourism: Gender makes a difference (IUCN – The World Conservation
Union (Nd)), http://lib.icimod.org/record/9561/files/4990.pdf.
29
Eurofound: Addressing the gender pay gap: Government and social partner actions (Dublin,
2010).
30
UN Women: Facts & figures on women, poverty & economics, poverty & employment,
http://www.unifem.org/gender_issues/women_poverty_economics/facts_figures.php#2 [accessed 15
February 2013].
31
WTTC: ILO presentation at the T20 Ministerial meeting 2012 in Mexico.
32
WTTC: Economic impact research 2013 and Economic impact of travel & tourism 2013
annual update: summary, http://www.wttc.org/research/economic-impact-research/, and
http://www.wttc.org/site_media/uploads/downloads/Economic_Impact_of_TT_2013_Annual_
Update_-_Summary.pdf [accessed 4 March 2013].
8 WP-External-289-[SECTO-130318-2]-NR-En.docxgrowth is anticipated, from 8.1 per cent of total employment in 2010 to 9.2 per cent by
2020. In 2011, investment in the travel and tourism sector was 4.9 per cent of total
investments; by 2020, this should rise by 5.6 per cent over the next ten years. Moreover,
export earnings from international visitors in 2011 accounted for 5.3 per cent of total
exports. 33
Tourism in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
member countries directly contributed to about 4.2 per cent of GDP and 5.4 per cent of
employment in 2010, for EU members the share was respectively 4.4 per cent and 5.7 per
cent, accounting for 9.7 million jobs. OECD member countries play a leading role in
international tourism, representing 66 per cent of global arrivals in 2010, while European
Union (EU) member countries accounted for 50.2 per cent. In 2010, total international
arrivals in all countries reached 940 million, with strongest growth taking place in Asia and
the Pacific. In OECD countries, tourism GDP ranges between 1.9 per cent in Denmark and
10.7 per cent in Spain. With respect to their share in total employment, the variance is
between 2 per cent in Denmark and 12.7 per cent in Spain. 34 In the United States,
accommodation and food services employ around 12.5 million people (7.61 per cent of the
total workforce).
In addition, several non-OECD member countries show strong growth – in
international tourism terms – in both destinations and originating markets (particularly
Argentina, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia and South Africa), with rapidly growing tourism
economies accounting for a significant share of GDP and total employment. In the Pacific,
tourism contributes greatly to GDP. In Fiji, for example, tourism created jobs for over
40,000 people and contributed significantly to foreign exchange reserves. In 2005, each
US$1 created about 63 jobs in Fiji. 35
2.1.2. Working conditions
Hotels are a core component of the HCT sector and as such one of the largest and
most rapidly expanding industries worldwide. The sub-sector can rightfully be described as
a vehicle of globalization, as the hotels themselves accommodate tourists and business
travellers from around the world. As in most other industries, the hotel sub-sector is
increasingly dominated by multinational companies. Hotel workplaces frequently draw
workers from the most vulnerable segments of the labour market. 36 It is also important to
note that there is considerable variation between countries, between urban and rural areas,
33
WTTC: Travel and tourism world economic impact 2012, http://www.wttc.org/site_media/
uploads/downloads/world2012.pdf [accessed 7 February 2013].
34
See: http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/sectors/tourism/index_en.htm [accessed 13 December 2012];
OECD: Tourism trends and policies 2012: Summary (OECD, 2012).
35
P.K. Narayan; S. Narayan; A. Prasad, B.D. Prasad: “Tourism and economic growth: a panel data
analysis for Pacific Island countries”, in Tourism Economics (2010, 16(1)), pp. 169 – 183. In 2006,
the sector provided 2.1 per cent of GDP in the Salomon Islands, in 2007 it was 6 per cent in
Vanuatu, and in 2008 it was 3.6 per cent in Samoa and 4.4 per cent in Fiji (ILO: Green jobs in the
South Pacific: A preliminary study (ILO, 2010)).
36
S. Tufts: “Emerging labour strategies in Toronto's hotel sector: toward a spatial circuit of union
renewal”, in Environment and Planning (2007, A 39), pp. 2383–2404,
WP-External-289-[SECTO-130318-2]-NR-En.docx 9and between different segments (high-end/low-end) of the hotel labour market. The degree
and impact of unionization also varies to a great extent. 37
A European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions
(Eurofound) report states that the collectively agreed pay in the hotels and restaurants is
low when compared to average wages in almost all EU member states.38 In addition to the
low wage level, the working hours in this sector is longer than the national average. The
report also states that there is a tendency towards consolidation of ownership in the sector,
although small and medium-sized enterprises are still predominant. Meanwhile, the sector
is characterized by a high degree of fluctuation (turnaround), that is, hotels are created and
go out of business and/or change owners. This is even truer for restaurants. In hotels, the
above-mentioned process of ownership concentration manifests itself in both in a tendency
for hotels to become larger as well as more numerous. There has also been a great
proliferation of chains. This has important consequences for labour, since the running of
large chains necessitates professional operations and management standards, which often
carry with them the potential for improved handling of work related questions. 39
Working conditions in HCT are often challenging. According to Eurofound, much of
the work in hotels and restaurants is of a strenuous nature and may involve long periods of
standing, a lot of walking (often in uncomfortable shoes for women), carrying (heavy)
loads, repetitive movements, working in painful positions and walking up/down stairs.
There is thus a heavy workload coupled with high levels of stress resulting from time
pressure and constant customer contact. Furthermore, constant contact with water and
cleansing products is a key risk. To this must be added the significant risk factor of
violence and harassment from customers, colleagues or management. 40
The sector is, therefore, characterized by diversity, complexity, inter-linkages, and
fragmentation in terms of employment relations and working conditions. HCT occupations
are not the only jobs linked to the sector‟s direct activities (for example, hotel and
restaurant and tourism employees), there are also many jobs that have indirect relationships
with the sector as well (for example, taxi drivers, other transports, souvenir shop
owners/workers). These relationships influence the many types of workplace contracts that
include full-time, part-time, temporary, agency, casual and seasonal employment as well as
subcontracting and have significant implications for HRD within the sector. 41
In contrast to other industries, employment in HCT tends to be oriented towards
people under 35 years of age. In Spain 43.4 per cent of workers in the sector are aged
25–34. 42 The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a higher number of workers
37
Eurofound: EU hotel and restaurant sector: Work and employment conditions, (Dublin, European
Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, 2004).
38
Ibid. and Eurofound: Employment and industrial relations in the hotels and restaurants sector
(Dublin, European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, 2012).
39
Ibid.
40
Ibid.
41
ILO: Developments and challenges in the hospitality and tourism sector, Issues paper for
discussion at the Global Dialogue Forum for the Hotels, Catering, Tourism Sector, Geneva,
23–24 November 2010.
42
Federación Estatal de Hostelería, Comercio y Turismo de Comisiones Obreras: Relaciones
laborales en los establecimientos hoteleros: Los y las trabajadoras ante la crisis del modelo laboral
y económico hotelero (March 2010), p.187.
10 WP-External-289-[SECTO-130318-2]-NR-En.docxaged between 16 and 20 than those aged 20 and over working in food preparation and
service-related occupations. 43 However, this traditional characteristic of employing young
women and men will undergo future changes as the demographic structures of both
developed and developing countries change. The presence of an ageing workforce in
regions such as Europe, Japan and North America means that the HCT sector in the future
will depend on an older profile of employees with potential impacts on workplace
conditions, productivity and brand image. Populations are also aging in developing
countries, where there are pools of younger workers placing an overall strain on these
societies for more jobs.
43
United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, http://www.bls.gov/emp/ep_table_109.htm [accessed
13 December 2012].
WP-External-289-[SECTO-130318-2]-NR-En.docx 113. Recognizing gender issues
According to the ILO, 44 definitions of gender equality need to go beyond the
workplace because what happens in employment is often a reflection of wider social issues
and divisions. Gender equality means that women and men have equal conditions for
realizing their full human rights and for contributing to, and benefiting from, economic,
social, cultural and political development. Gender equality is therefore the equal valuing
by society of the similarities and the differences of men and women, and the roles they
play. It is based on women and men being full partners in their home, their community and
their society. Gender equality starts with equal valuing of girls and boys.
Notions of gender and gender equity lie at the heart of an understanding of
sustainability within tourism, particularly in a development context. This has two key
dimensions, as expressed by Moreno Alarcón and Ferguson: 45
(a) Gender and environmental sustainability: the combination of both concepts prompts
examination of the relationship between environmental degradation, gender
inequalities and discrimination against women. The way in which gender roles
condition the relationship that women and men (both individually and collectively)
have with natural resources is studied. In general, when dealing with environmental
problems, the impacts “at the end of the tube” (wastes, contamination, land
degradation) are more often identified and addressed than the matter of women‟s
access to, and control over, natural resources. Central elements such as, for example,
women‟s access to, and control over, land, or the control and management of water or
forests, are still not considered relevant.
(b) Gender and economic sustainability: studying and working towards economic
sustainability from a gender perspective allows one to tackle the following matters:
■ Methodological criticisms: in the formulation of statistics and national accounts
that are blind to gender
■ Discussions on binomial work/employment
■ Sexual division of labour
■ Labour participation and discrimination against women
■ Economic policies and their effects, differentiated by sex
■ Problems and alternatives related to gender and development
■ Invisibility of women in macroeconomic models
■ Gender bias in public policies and budgets
■ Impact of gender on public policies
■ Economy and gender equality
44
ILO: ABC of women worker’s rights and gender equality, Geneva, 2010.
45
D. Moreno Alarcón; L. Ferguson: Tourism as an opportunity: Good practices in sustainable
tourism from a gender perspective (Spain, International and Ibero–American Foundation for
Administration and Public Policies (FIIAPP), 2011).
12 WP-External-289-[SECTO-130318-2]-NR-En.docx■ Budgets with a gender focus conditioned by economic and environmental
sustainability.
Nevertheless, a gender perspective should not be considered only in terms of social
sustainability as is often the case, for it is a category of analysis which has to be part of,
and influence, each dimension of sustainable development. In this way, it will be possible
to conceive of new ways of accomplishing activities for economic, environmental and
social sustainability.
Participation levels in the workforce are key indicators of gender equality in the
labour market. Figure 1 below shows minimums, maximums and medians of male-to-
female ratios across different regions. First of all, it shows the overall male–female ratio in
different regions, revealing that in North Africa, the Middle East, South Asia and sub-
Saharan Africa, the gender gap in participation can be over 50 per cent. This figure also
shows the differences between the different countries in the region, reflecting the
differences even in all these areas. In the Middle East and North Africa, the medians were
highest and differences between countries were also small, whereas in sub-Saharan Africa
and South Asia, differences between countries being as big as from negative percentage
points to over 50 percentage points.
Figure 1: Male-female gaps in labour force participation rates worldwide: regional minimum,
maximum and median, percentage points, 2008
70
60
50
Percentage points
40
30
20
10
0
-10
Europe (non-EU) & CIS
and the Pacific
South-East Asia
North Africa
Caribbean
Sub-Saharan Africa
Central & South Eastern
Latin America & the
Middle East
Developed countries
& the EU
East Asia
South Asia
Maximum Median Minimum
Source: ILO: Women in labour markets: Measuring progress and identifying challenges (Geneva 2010), p. 13.
This analysis also has implications for the potential of labour force capacity in HCT.
In the regions where participation of women compared to men overall is low, the reasons
WP-External-289-[SECTO-130318-2]-NR-En.docx 13behind this gap may be found in cultural and religious factors. In these regions, promoting
overall access to labour market and economic independence are more accurate measures to
improve gender equality, and tackling gender equality in the HCT sector specifically is
dependent on such overall measures. On the other hand, in regions where the spread of
countries along the gap is wider, there might be more potential to promote equality by
tackling sector specific questions such as why are jobs in the HCT sector gender
segregated, and how can women‟s access to managerial posts and better working
conditions be addressed.
A look at aggregate sectors gives a general overview of how women and men
participate in the labour force in the three main economic sectors: sector, services and
agriculture. In the developed economies as well as in Latin America, women tend to be
most concentrated in services. In developing regions, especially South Asia and sub-
Saharan Africa, women (and, in the latter, also men) are most concentrated in agriculture.
Even though the overall participation rate of women in the labour force is low in the
Middle East and North Africa, the women who do work are most often employed in
services (over 50 per cent). This suggests clearly that HCT is among those sectors that can
provide employment to women in regions where they have rather wider access to the
labour market. On the other hand, services sectors are most often characterised by low pay
and informal work, and the further segregation of women as service workers should not
necessarily be a trend to be encouraged.
Figure 2: Global and regional distribution of employment by aggregate sector, by sex, 2008
Sub-Saharan Africa F 61.1 6.6 32.3
M 61.8 12 26.3
North Africa F 33.6 15.6 50.7
M 26.3 24.4 49.3
Middle East F 34.6 16.7 48.7
M 14.9 28.8 56.4
Latin America & F 10 13.9 76.1
the Caribbean M 21.7 28.6 49.8
South Asia F 69.9 13.7 16.3
M 44.3 22.4 33.2
South East Asia & F 44.5 14.4 41.1
the Pacific M 44.5 20.3 35.2
East Asia F 42.1 24 33.9
M 34.1 31.2 34.6
Central & South Eastern F 19.3 16 64.6
Europen (non-EU) & CIS M 19.8 32.1 48.1
Developed economies & EU F 3 12.4 84.5
M 4.4 34.4 61.2
WORLD F 37.1 16.1 46.9
M 33.1 26.4 40.4
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Agriculture (%) Industry (%) Services (%)
Source: ILO: Women in labour markets: Measuring progress and identifying challenges, p. 38, Geneva 2010.
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